Hot finance topics

Shareholders on Monday approved Wendy’s International Inc (WEN.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) $2 billion buyout by Triarc Cos Inc (TRY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the Arby’s sandwich chain owner controlled by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz.
The deal, which combines Triarc with the No. 3 U.S. hamburger restaurant, is expected to close at the […]

Frugal shoppers cut back again in August, driving down sales at the nation’s retailers for the second month in a row, further proof the economy is losing traction.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that retail sales dropped by 0.3% last month. Economists expected sales to rise by 0.3%.
Sales in July also turned out to be […]

The Treasury Department is trying to reassure investors that the government will meet its commitments in its unprecedented takeover of the nation’s two largest mortgage companies.
The Treasury Department released a statement late Thursday seeking to answer commonly asked questions about the takeovers, including how solid it considered the pledge to provide up to $200 […]

Sales at U.S. retailers excluding car dealers probably dropped in August for the first time in six months as Americans retrenched in the face of mounting job losses and record foreclosures.
Non-auto purchases fell 0.2 percent after a 0.4 percent gain the prior month, according to the median of 76 estimates in a Bloomberg […]

The U.S. trade deficit widened much more than expected in July as average oil prices jumped to a record $124.66 per barrel and the volume of crude oil imports grew to the highest in four years, a U.S. Commerce Department report showed on Thursday.
The monthly trade gap swelled to $62.2 billion, the largest since […]

Japanese machinery orders fell for a second month in July, signaling manufacturers expect the global slowdown to crimp demand into next year.
Orders, an indicator of capital spending in the next three to six months, declined 3.9 percent from June, when they slid 2.6 percent, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo.
Japan's economy […]

The European Commission slashed its economic growth forecasts for Europe on Wednesday in an admission that a downturn which began in the United States is hitting far harder than many imagined six months ago.
France, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, meanwhile rejigged the agenda for a Friday meeting of EU finance […]

Internet search leader Google Inc. and NBC Universal said Monday they’re teaming up to allow Google to sell advertisements on some of NBC’s cable channels such as MSNBC, Oxygen and the Sci Fi network.
The partnership signals Mountain View, Calif.-based Google’s desire to sell ads in different places besides next to its search engine, and […]

Residents of Totnes, a town of about 8,000 people in southwest England, are so worried about the economy's future that they've created their own currency.
“When times have got difficult in the past, local currencies have been one of the tools communities have used to get out of trouble,'' said Robert Jackson, 58, a […]

JetBlue Airways Corp. is auctioning off more than 300 roundtrip flights and six vacation packages this week on eBay, with opening bids set between 5 and 10 cents.
The flights are to more than 20 destinations, including four "mystery" JetBlue Getaways Vacation packages to undisclosed locations.
The three-, five- and seven-day auctions include one- and two-person […]